Yellowstone (part 2)

 

As I mentioned before, Yellowstone is waaay too big to cover in just one day. Therefore it’s too big to cover in just one blog post. The adventure continues!

 

 

Sad to say, in some way Yellowstone is a little like visiting castles or cathedrals in Europe. For me, anyway. After you’ve seen a few they all start to blend together, you know? So it’s too bad I was geysered out when we got to Norris Basin. It was epically cool, like walking through a volcano.

If the light seems a little odd in that photo… well, that’s because it is. There were several fires burning in Yellowstone while we were there. All were being managed, so no need to panic. Although one night every parking area along the road to the West Entrance was closed – blocked off with fire trucks. From what I read, the newest fire was just over the ridge north of that road. I guess it’s easier to evacuate people if you don’t let them park in the first place.

But the fires did give me a few interesting pictures, since they colored the sky:

We ended up back in the same campsite north of West Yellowstone several times, and one spot outside of Gardiner. It was on the way to Jardine, and we didn’t find any of what I’d call a traditional dispersed campsite. Generally those are set off from a road, even from a 2-track road. But the fire rings we saw were actually in what looked like pull-outs just off the dirt road.

This appeared to be a seldom-traveled road. We saw 1 car on our way up. We were only there for the night, so we went for it.

Not the most picturesque… especially since smoke from the fires obscured pretty much the entire view. But there was plenty of room, no traffic, and (for once) enough time for me to play with the 50mm lens on my camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gardiner is just north of the north entrance to the Park. So the next day, it was easy to get a jump start on Mammoth Hot Springs before heading over to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Neither area disappointed, let me tell you.

Walking around Mammoth was like walking on the moon. Crazy beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finally headed east through the Park, turning south at Tower-Roosevelt junction. It didn’t take long for us to come across a small traffic jam. I could see in the distance that it was bison, so I just shut off the truck.

I’ve dealt with bison in Yellowstone before and it requires patience. They’re bigger than most cars, see, so when they stand in the road they’re not inclined to move for a measly car. Or a big truck. Or a giant RV.

I was hoping somebody would try and pet one so I could document the carnage, but no such luck.

 

 

 

Eventually the bison moved off the road so we could continue.

 

 

Finally, we reached the one thing I came here to see: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

I could spend days here. Days! I wish I could have seen more.

The hikes were a little tough – three trips to the base of Lower Falls were all steep down, then back up, but totally worth it.

 

 

 

I was happy to finally get to walk Uncle Tom’s Trail, a series of steps that get you to a close viewing point near the base of the falls.

 

 

 

 

All the green in this photo (as well as the small streams) are the direct result of the spray from the falls.

I’m also happy to report that the hikes back up were not as bad as I thought they would be. Yay, CrossFit!

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before – but Michael continues to do 4 CrossFit workouts per week! He’s such a badass. I, however, am lazy and have dropped to 2. I’m trying to supplement the workouts with trail running or mountain biking, but being in grizzly bear country has me a little spooked. I do NOT want my epitaph to include death by grizzly.